Never Expected
by deceitfulDestinee
Summary: Some people thought they were flushed in secret. Others swore they were black. Some people Sollux would never be in any of Eridan's quadrants. Everyone speculated, everyone whispered. No one expected what happened, not even them. No, moiralliegence had never even been a consideration. And yet, here they were...


Fandom: Homestuck (Andrew Hussie)

Pairings: Sollux/Feferi (Established Matespritship); Feferi/Aradia (Established Moiralliegence; Hinted); Sollux/Eridan (Failed Kismessitude; Budding Moiralliegence); Eridan/Jade (Hinted One-Sided; Flushed)

Rating Subject To Change Based On What I Feel Like Writing Later

* * *

**Be the bipolar spazzdouche.**

You are now Sollux Captor, and whoever let Dave Fucking Strider narrate is a dumbass. Or you'd think that if you knew what the hell was meant by narrate. Of course, you don't, so you're not really thinking that. What you are thinking is, "How in the ever living fuck did I end up here?" Here being the house party of some moronic college goer, wasting his parents money on too much alcohol and a shitty DJ. Normally you'd avoid these parties at all costs. You were not a social butterfly, and you didn't really get a kick out of drinking yourself stupid. So, why were you here? You find yourself thinking again. That is, until a bubbly giggle sounds to your right, and you have to catch yourself before you smile. To your left is a tall, happy go lucky troll draped in a brightly colored pink and green dress.

Her name is Feferi Piexes, and you love her more than you'd thought was possible. She is the cheery social butterfly behind your current misery, and you can't bring yourself to feel even the slightest bit of ire towards her. You'd follow her every whim, and everyone knew it. You were loyal as a barkbeast to your matesprit, and there was no way around it. She wrapped both her arms around one of yours, leaning in and smiling up at you. Pigment had long ago filled in her eyes, making them a deep shade of tyrian purple, shining with excitement and set in a sweet, rounded face.

"Isn't this fun, Sollux? The music is sooo good!" she squealed, obviously basking in the upbeat atmosphere.

You lifted an eyebrow at her in the way universally recognized as meaning, "You're kidding me, right?" You probably would've admitted the music wasn't half bad, if it weren't Dave Strider douching it up behind the turntables. Most nights he worked at the club he and his slightly less douche-y brother owned, but he'd taken to DJing parties on weekends if the pay was high enough. As such, anyone who knew him was privy to where and when all the biggest parties would be. You had quickly come to resent this fact, as Feferi just couldn't resist crashing a good party. (Not that it was really crashing, because any human or troll alike took one look and practically trip over themselves inviting her in.) You were dragged to about half of them, because she was under the impression you needed to socialize more.

"Sollux. Solluuuuux. Domrenas to Solluxxxxxx."

You blink, brought out of your thoughts by Feferi's repeated tugging on your arm.

"I thtill think that'th a thtupid name." Your lisp had come back full force when the game ended, and your blindness and lack of teeth had been healed. Unfortunate, but you suppose it was a fair trade off. You did not take to being blind as well as Terezi, and the voices were still gone, so you could deal with a little lisp.

Feferi pulled off an amazingly adorable and yet still somehow threatening pout. "It's not a stupid name, you grouch! I think it's an adorable name for our sparkly new planet. Now, be a gentleman and go get your sweet, adorable matesprit a drink."

You snort, and lean in for a quick peck on the forehead. "Don't let anyone thweep you off your pretty little feet while I'm gone, Princeth."

Feferi laughed and waved you off. You set off through the maze of young humans and troll, though, perhaps maze isn't the proper word. It was more of a mass of swaying bodies clutching half empty plastic cups of supermarket booze, mouths busy chattering in a drunken slur, singing off-key to the pounding music, or latched onto one another. You take several minutes to push through the crowd, and finally emerge on the other side, clothes a bit ruffled but otherwise unharmed. You adjust your multi-shaded glasses and elbow past a few other matesprits sent on a drink run. You fill two plastic cups with the cheap alcohol and step away from the refreshment table. As you prepare to brave the crowd again, something flashes by the corner of your eye, and that's all the warning you get before someone slams into your arm, sending one cup of booze splashing to the ground. You curse and whirl on the passerby.

"Hey, athhole! Watch where you're fucking going!" you snap, a string of general insults on the tip of your tongue. You falter for a moment when you realize it wasn't a stranger.

Standing before you was none other than Eridan Ampora, the last troll you thought you'd run into here. At least he didn't wear that stupid cape anymore. You expect a few insults, and some shitty attempts at flirting black.

So it surprises you when all you get is a look that was just a bit more surprised than confrontational, and a grumbled, "Sol. The fuck are you evven doin' here?"

"I'm here with my matethprit, fithhfuck." You snap, with less venom than usual.

It had honestly been awhile since you've bumped into Eridan. He seemed keen on keeping his distance from all of the ex-players, and for the most part, he was just a face seen at gatherings and occasionally popping up on the street. You actually had a hard time remembering the last time you'd seen him up close.

A protective look flashed over the sea-dwellers face. "You better be treatin' her right. Fef deservves to be treated like a Empress."

"I treat her better than you ever did, tho thtay away from her." Your voice takes on a protective hiss. Feferi was your matesprit, and if this douche came around flirting with her again, he was going to kick his ass. He didn't have his fancy science wand now.

Eridan sneered, pushing past you, "Fuck off. I didn't come to flirt wwith Fef, I'm leavvin' anywway. I'm not in the mood for you and your shit."

"Aww, whatth wrong, did thomeone thoot you down again? Finally realithe no one wantth to date a dethperate fuck up?"

You were expecting another sneer and a biting remark. You were not expecting Eridan to glance back at you with what looked very much like hurt on his face, or to shove you back and take off, leaving you standing there with one cup of half spilled beer, staring after him and wondering what the fucking hell had happened to him.

And yet, here you were. You blinked, still slightly dazed, and without really knowing why or what you'd do when you caught up to him, you jogged after his quickly retreating form.

**Be the whiny fishfuck. **

This is definitely the last time Dave is allowed to help narrate.

You are now Eridan Ampora, and your life hasn't been more over since Kanaya took a chainsaw to your midsection in Sgrub. Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it didn't really feel like it was. Your life has pretty much been spiraling downhill since you came to live on this new planet. (What even kind of stupid name was Domrenas anyway?) Distancing yourself from the others seemed the most logical course of action. You'd fucked everything up in the game, and there probably wasn't one of them that hadn't rejected you at some point. It wasn't like anyone would miss you, anyway.

You stopped running – when had you started doing that? – and slid to the ground outside the large house. You had been forced to admit that your social skills were pretty much shit. You had been taught to have a condescending attitude. You were always supposed to be better than others. Except that you weren't, and you knew that now. You'd been taught an old and outdated reverence for the hemospectrum, and it had finally hit you that it was complete and utter bullshit. You weren't better than anyone. Hell, you weren't as good as anyone. The only friend you had was Jade, and these unwanted flushed feelings that kept popping up for her were sure to ruin that eventually. Jade was cheerful, happy, kind. She reminded you of Fef sometimes, and you didn't want to drag her down the way you had your ex-moirail. God, were you pitiful, and not even in the romantic sense. You were just plain old human pathetic.

You cringe and lean back, thumping your head painfully against the house and closing your eyes. Maybe if you just sat here for awhile, the world would go away and leave you alone.

"Hey, Ampora! The fuck ith wrong with you?"

. . . Or it would send Sollux to platonically hate you some more, because you would never live down that shitty failed kismesis attempt. You don't even have it in you to argue with him right now. You cast him a look that ends up more tired than angry, and say, "I said I'm not in the mood to argue, Sol. Leavve me alone."

He stops short, and seems to be debating something in his head, which he does quite often. You expect him to leave. Instead, he strolls up and drops into a sitting position beside you. There's a long and awkward silence, and you sit there and contemplate breaking it.

**Be the awkward one.**

You are once again Sollux Captor, and you indeed feel very awkward. You haven't the slightest idea what possessed you to follow Eridan out here. You slide the cup of beer towards him. He looks at it oddly, and it seems to take him a few seconds to realize it was being offered to him. He take the cup, and takes a sip. Judging by the face he makes, he's not a fan of the taste, but he shrugs it off and takes a long gulp anyway. It gives you a few minutes to observe him. His face is thinner than it used to be, his eyes ringed with dark purple. He looks tired. Like he's about to give up. It made you feel a bit guilty, though you don't understand why. You and Eridan hated each other. . . didn't you?

The more you thought about it, the less likely it seemed. How could you hate someone you didn't talk to? Love died out with too much space, and so did hate. It wasn't like you liked Eridan, it was just that you didn't enjoy seeing him suffer anymore. Old wounds had healed; their old lives weren't held against each other anymore.

". . . It'th been awhile."

". . . Yeah." Eridan muttered, not looking away from his drink.

". . . You look like thit."

He snorted in an unamused way, "Yeah, thanks, Sol. You look like a real douche yourself."

You realized swapping insults was not the way you wanted this conversation to go. You told yourself it was only curiosity that urged you to ask again. "Tho you gonna tell me what'th wrong?"

"Tch. You sayin' you actually care?"

"I'm not thaying I care. I'm thaying I'll lithen though."

Eridan goes silent again, and stares into his cup. You watch, wondering if you should shake him out of his stupor.

**Be the one suddenly obsessed with staring into a cup.**

You are now Eridan Ampora, and you are staring into your cup of beer. You certainly can't bring yourself to make awkward eye contact with the troll sitting next to you. You just can't for the life of you figure out why Sollux is sitting here interested in your problems. What's even worse is you kind of almost want to tell him. Instead, you scoff bitterly.

"It's not like it's anythin' you don't already knoww. I'm a desperate fishfuck and I drivve awway anyone I try to care about."

Sollux stays silent for a moment, and you think maybe he's going to agree, or leave, but instead he asks, "Why are you avoiding uth all? Even Feferi."

You weren't expecting that. It surprised you he even noticed. "I. . . it's just better for evveryone, isn't it? It's not like I'm actually friends wwith any of you. And Fef. . . Fef is better off with Aradia. She's a better moirail than I evver wwas. Fef deservves you and her."

Sollux is staring at you. You can see him from the corner of your eye, and its making you uncomfortable. Why were you even talking about this? You've never talked to Sollux about anything before. Except for, you know, blackrom things. God that was a disaster. It seriously made you cringe when you thought about it.

"Come to the apartment tomorrow."

You think you may have just choked on air. "Wwhat? Wwhy wwould I-?"

"Feferi mitheth you, idiot. You're thtill her friend, even if you're not moirailth anymore. And you look like you need a dethent meal. You probably can't cook for thit. Thee you at five, we'll be waiting."

And then he was gone, disappearing back inside to track down Feferi and tell him they had dinner plans tomorrow, leaving you to sit on the ground in complete shock. You had once been begging him for kismesessitude, and now he had just extended a dinner invitation after a conversation that had bordered on pale—no. You were not going to even think about entertaining the idea of quadrants with Sollux again. Especially not something as ridiculous as being his moirail. Like that would ever happen in the history of fucking ever. You should just go home, fix yourself some dinner – you cooked just fine, thank you very much! – and mull over the invitation in the morning.

. . . And find something to wash the taste of this god awful alcohol out of your mouth. You really didn't like to drink.

**Be the confused as all hell with yourself troll.**

You are Sollux Captor and you are confused as all hell with yourself. What was this strange urge to help Eridan? Where in the ever living fuck did it come from? You just couldn't help it. He looked like a shadow of the arrogant prick he'd been, half starved and alone and not even able to tell you to fuck off properly. He needed someone to snap him out of whatever funk he was in before he did himself some sort of harm, and something in your gut told you it had to be you.

Oh. Oh dear god no. You were _not _thinking pale thoughts about Eridan fucking Ampora. You'd rather be pale for douche Strider. You were probably just tipsy is all, never mind that you hadn't really had anything to drink yet. Yes, that was it. You were tipsy and Eridan was having a bad day and you just felt a moment of weakness and it's not like you were a bad guy, anyone would want to give a half starved idiot a good meal, right? Right. All of this would go away as soon as dinner was over tomorrow night and you could go back to not giving a shit.

And as you made your way back to Feferi, who would no doubt ask a million questions about where you wandered off to and where her drink was, you ignored that little voice in the back of your head that whispered, _Liar._

* * *

I should be in bed already. xD;;

I literally ship EriSol in every quadrant. Its like an addiction. 3 3 c3

This takes place Post-Sburb, on the new planet shared by trolls and humans called Domrenas.

Domrenas is derived from "domus renascentis" which is Latin for, "Home Reborn".


End file.
